Day Two Touring Vancouver

Our means of travelling in Vancouver

We woke up to what we think is a typical weather forecast for Vancouver - cloudy with a chance of showers.  We filled our bellies with an awesome breakfast at our hotel and made our plans for the day.  We walked to the stop for our trolley to take us to Granville Street Island, which has been recommended by friends of ours as well as the tourist information counsellor.  The first trolley to come through was packed with people, so we needed to wait for the next trolley.  What is really great about this particular business is they send out an overflow trolley to pick up extra passengers.  We only waited about 10 minutes and had the trolley to ourselves for a few stops.  We really enjoy the little stories the drivers tell us as we pass different landmarks on our journey to our destination.

Kids at the waterpark

Francois with our purchases from market

We arrived on Granville Island shortly after 10:30 and made our way through the market area.  It was bustling with lots of people and lots of merchants selling their wares.   There were lots of different smells in the area - the best ones were from the bakery with the fresh smell of bread and sweets.  The kids were anxious to get to the Children's Market - which has toys, treats and games geared toward children.  The kids loved the Magic store and the Magician who wowed them with his tricks.  They made a few purchases at the market and then we made our way to the free waterpark and playground area.  The weather was a little cool but there were still children playing at the waterslide and in the splash area.  The kids insisted they wanted to change into their bathing suits, they were anxious to play in the water too.  I wish I would have had my camera ready when they hit the water at the bottom of the slide the first time - the water was ice cold.  Their expressions were priceless, but despite the cold they continued to play on the slides and splash pads for about 30 minutes.  

The busker doing his thing

We headed back to the market to make some purchases for lunch and while we were strolling the boardwalk outside we came upon a busker getting ready to set up for his show.  It wasn't the best busker we have seen, but the kids were entertained and wowed with his tricks.  He even managed to juggle three basketballs while riding a unicycle.


We had a free ferry crossing with the purchase of our trolley pass, so we took the ferry back to Vancouver and walked to meet our trolley.  Our last driver of the day was by far the best - he had lots of interesting information about the city.  We would highly recommend the Vancouver Trolley Company when in Vancouver - we could hop on and hop off at different locations and get different stories about landmark locations from different drivers.

Waiting for the Steam Clock to whistle

We stopped in Gas Town and did some window shopping.  Andrea made a few purchases for some of the people on her list, we stopped at Starbucks for some large cookies and had a chance to listen to the Gas Town Steam Clock.  The large whistle of the clock sounds out on the hour and then plays a different tune on the half hour.

Trish, Luke and Tanya

Don and Ben

My Mount Allison university friend, Trish Navaux, invited our family to her house for supper with her husband Don and her two boys - Ben and Luke.  We had a delicious supper and a wonderful visit.  It was great to visit with Trish as it has been far too long since we have seen one another.  Despite the years without seeing one another we still picked up our friendship like it was those many years before at Mount A.  Trish's husband, Don,  was very welcoming to all of us and was interested in our journey across Canada.  Ben, who is four,  was great to share his toys and books with the kids.  Luke, who is two, was happy to play with Francois and me.  It is amazing how quickly time goes by as it doesn't seem so long ago we were playing the same games with David - who just turned six this year.  Thank you to Trish and Don and the boys for a wonderful evening!

Andrea, Natalie, David, Ben and Luke

The kids are now tucked in to bed for the night.  Francois is reviewing the guides about Vancouver Island as that will be our last stop in Canada.  So hard to believe we will be beginning our journey in the US in the next few days.  Thanks so much for your comments and e-mails.  We love hearing from all of you.


Take Care
Tanya